


Tending Wounds

by swaneewhistleandkazoo



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Love, Mutual Pining, Post-Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Reaching An Understanding, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 19:45:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16687762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swaneewhistleandkazoo/pseuds/swaneewhistleandkazoo
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle at the Lestrange Tomb in Paris, Newt and Tina reflect on their losses and attempt to get some rest.





	Tending Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for those who haven't seen Crimes of Grindelwald yet.

After the whirlwind of meetings and debriefings with both the French and British Ministries of Magic as well as their conference with Dumbledore at Hogwarts, following what had happened at the Lestrange tomb had drained them all. The order to “ _Go home, take the weekend and get your heads on straight. We’ll have a fresh start on Monday.”_ Had been accepted very gladly by all and when Jacob has tiredly asked if he could stay with Newt and then at his hopeful look extended the invitation to Tina who had wearily accepted. 

As the three of them with their arms around each other like drunks they half stagger up the front steps of his house he can’t tell anymore who is holding who up anymore or if they are all just supporting each other's weight. His eyes are gritty with tiredness, his quickly treated burns are starting to ache and he doesn’t really know how he feels inside… he’s mourning obviously a loss of his friend, in another life maybe a something more perhaps? But mostly he’s hurting for his friends. Of His brother’s loss of Leta. Of Jacob and Tina’s loss of Queenie and his failure to try to protect Credence again.

But mostly he feels utterly lost in how he’s supposed to help them get through this. His mind is churning frantically, trying to come up with a solution but he severely doubts that sicing the Swooping Evil on Grindelwald will work again.

So much has happened over the last few days that he’d completely lost track of what time it was and while he was helping Tina supporting and exhausted Jacob he couldn’t spare much concentration to search his pockets for his watch, which he was certain the Niffler had taken off him while they were speaking with Dumbledore probably in an bout of pettiness over the lack of teaspoons to steal.

From a quick glance up at the sky he’d safely hazard a guess that it was at least night time and probably very late.

To unlock his front door he had to let go of Jacob’s arm and fumble one-handed for his wand on Jacob’s other side Tina grunted slightly, bracing herself slightly as he transferred a greater portion of Jacob’s weight to her. A swift rap with the end of his wand and the locks pop open and with his toe he nudges the door open before hauling Jacob’s arm more securely around his shoulders.

Poor Jacob, he’s been enchanted, found himself rushing around two unfamiliar cities, dodge death and danger by the skin of his teeth several times, lost the woman he loves to the rhetoric of a silver tongue megalomaniac and been exposed to magic that is usually kept hidden from the muggle world.

Sweating slightly he turned sideways lead them all through the entrance hall, it’s too narrow for three abreast there when Theseus’s solitary figure illuminated but the amber glow of the street light makes him pause. Throughout the endless meetings Theseus has maintained a stoically calm façade and it’s only because Newt knows him can he tell how much pain he’s been restraining from bursting forth. But now the façade is cracking and he can just see the glinting silver of tears sliding down his brother’s face.

It’s the quietness of the breakdown frightens him and it makes him worry that Theseus may do something stupid.

Like try to take down Grindelwald by himself.

Which while Theseus would do impressively against him and his followers it would almost definitely be a death sentence for him.

He’s drawn back to Tina’s dark gaze, liquid and dancing with internal fire, on the other side of Jacob and he can tell she’d thinking exactly the same thing he is and is deeply concerned about what his distraught brother might do.

“Theseus?” His voice sounds smaller and even more tentative than it normally does “Theseus, why don’t you come in?”

He shouldn’t be alone, not now, not so soon after losing Leta. His own chest twinges painfully at the remembrance that she’s gone, his oldest, previously only friend.

“Thank you Newt” His brother’s voice was far to calm, far to serene “But I think I should go home”

As upset as he’s feeling now he can’t imagine how badly Theseus must be feeling... if he lost Tina like that. Abruptly he cut himself from that train of thought.

The look on Theseus’s face reminds him to much of a wounded animal wanting only to be left alone. He’s seen it to many times before and previous experience had taught him not to push the boundaries too hard or the wounded will always lash out.

But this time the wounded isn’t an animal, the wounded is his brother.

As his brother turns to leave he manages to force his brother’s name out past the lump in his throat, probably more forcefully than he’d meant to. Theseus paused, head slightly tilted and with a jolt of surprise he realised that his brother is actually listening to him. “I-I don’t think you should be alone right now” Eyes fixed firmly on Jacob’s left shoe “In fact I think you should come in and...and…”

Even though it’s not directed at him Theseus’s expression of bleak hopeless fury causes him to trail of helplessly as his words fail him. For a moment he fears that the storm brewing inside of Theseus will be released in a devastating flood but it doesn’t come. If anything he looks…. almost touched? Surprised? That Newt wants to take care of him.

Theseus fixed him with a steady gaze “Thank you, Little Brother”

Maybe he should give him another hug?

Theseus shifted slightly from foot to foot and shoved his hands into the pockets of his suits “I’ll go to Mother’s alright? I give you my word”

Something inside of him relaxes slightly, Theseus has given him his word and when his brother always keeps his word. And Mother is far more likely to be able to talk Theseus about of being reckless than he is.

With a brittle smile Theseus turned and with a loud crack disapperated away and he’s alone with an out of it Jacob and Tina.

Between them they manage to get Jacob down the hallway and into the main room, it feels a little wrong that he’s overjoyed because Tina is here and hollow because Queenie its quite the reverse of several days ago.

Thankfully Bunty has cleared away all the dinner plate from that disastrous meal otherwise he’s almost certain that Jacob would start to cry again.

A quick glance at the clock on his mantelpiece that the baby nifflers haven’t manage to dismantle yet, its cream face shows half past four in the morning so he was wrong in his earlier assessment isn’t so much very late night as very early morning.

Together on weary legs they manage stagger across the room and deposit Jacob on the bed he uses if he has to stay close to his creatures for night feeds. Jacob looks diminished, lost and hollowed eyes sitting painfully alone on the small bed, fingers loosely interlocked.

“There’s gonna be another war” he murmured dully and swallowed like he had broken glass in his throat. “There can’t be Newt, there ain’t supposed to be another one” he sounded so hopeless.

Turning sharply on his heel he rushed to his little kitchen certain that he has a bottle of sleeping draught somewhere and as quietly as he can so not to disturb Jacob beings to search for it. The noise he makes he searches feels overly loud in the sad atmosphere of the room and he winces at every squeal of desk draws opening, every clink of a bottle and rustle of paper.

He does manage to find several of his missing items including his house keys and several items of jewellery he’s certain he doesn’t own the Nifflers apparently had been at it again, a very expensive bottle of firewhiskey given to him by his editor which he put down and promptly forgotten about and his bottle of Acromantula venom which he’s very glad he’s found as it was in his medicine cabinet.

“Jacob” Tina said softly, still kneeling next to Jacob while he searches, long legs folded up underneath her and gently holding his hand “You have to remember that visions they don’t always come to pass and prophecies often get misinterpreted” She squeezed his hand comfortingly, her voice breaks slightly stumbling over the words. She’s not lying really, visions don’t occur they way people believe they might but they are often self for filling.

It’s a phoenix and the flame scenario.

Relief blossoms through him when his fingers finally clumsily grasp the sleeping draught, although why it’s next to the butter dish in the pantry he really couldn’t tell you. Hands shaking he measured out a dose and then almost spilt it by tripping over his own feet he brought the dose of the purple potion over to his distraught friend.

“Jacob” He said softly but firmly to get their attention “You’ve had a shock and I think it would be best if you get some rest.” He held out the potion “It will help you sleep Jacob”

Jacob looked from the vial to his face a few time, face full of indecision. With a one shouldered shrug and a ‘what do I have to lose’ expression he took the vial and swallowed the dose down in one and then retched slightly at the taste.

_Needs more lavender_ he thought absently to himself as they watched the potion work its magic on him _he’s used to much wormwood again._

“Tina” Jacob said quietly as he slumped back on to the pillow as sleep takes him “It’s my fault, I could’ve stopped her”

“No” Tina’s voice is so soft he can barely hear it but Jacob is asleep before she can finish so it’s only Newt that hears her give Jacob some of the absolution that he so desperately needs “It’s not your fault” Jacob’s snore gently shook the room as she tenderly smoothed a blanket over Jacob like he was a child, in fact the move is so well practiced he’s certain that she’s done that for her beloved younger sister many times.

Once she’d finish tucking the blanket careful around him she sat back on her heels, hand resting on her knees and bowed her head dejectedly. She doesn’t make a sound but he can see the tension in her shoulders. 

The paleness of the nape of her neck contrast sharply with the darkness of her hair and Auror’s coat and he’s momentarily mesmerised by it. The skin there looks smooth and soft and shockingly vulnerable. He can see the faint beat of her pulse at the side of her throat and it’s equally captivating.

His mouth suddenly goes very dry as it occurs to him that they are practically alone for the first time since the French ministry and he valiantly attempts to swallow that dryness away.

There was so much he wanted to tell her.

He has missed her, terribly.

Had thought about her every single day since they’d met and as he’d found out she was in Paris coincidently working on the same case he’d have been assigned to if he’d decided to take accept the job the ministry had just offered him, _oh cruel irony_ , every thought had been driven out of his head accept to go and find her and just … help.

The months of silence and worry when his letters had gone unanswered, wondering if he had he’d inadvertently upset her, which he had. Wondering if maybe, and his chest had lurched horribly with the sensation like he’d missed a stair, perhaps she’d met another dashing young Auror who lived in the same continent as she did and she just didn’t want to hurt his feelings? 

That possibility along with the silence and the not knowing had been excruciating.

Queenie confirming that she had attempted to move on from him when she’d believed he was engaged to Leta had been devastating, worse than not knowing, and he planned to write a strongly worded letter to Spellbound the first chance he got about checking the facts of the matter before they publish.

Very briefly a mean spirited part of him had cheerfully fantasised about Mr Dashing Auror visiting his basement and just so happening to perhaps fall in with the Kelpie.

_I’m so very sorry Tina. I did tell him to stay away from the Kelpie but he didn’t listen and well it ate him… I tried to save him I really did… yes it’s a horrible way to die being both drowned and eaten alive….anyway you shouldn’t be with him you should be with me._

Thankfully Queenie had been too busy making dinner to eavesdrop.

Immediately after that little fantasy he’d been utterly ashamed of himself, she deserved to be happy and if she’d found someone who’d made her happy he was pleased for her.

Even if it wasn’t him

He hadn’t meant to tell her so badly; really he’d meant to say what Jacob had advised him to say when they were in the hall of records but he’s been captivated by the sight of her eyes, her salamander eyes, her beautiful fire in dark water eyes he’d lost his train of thought and it had just spilled out that way. Thankfully for the first time in his life someone had understood what he’d been trying to tell them, she’d understood.

As for telling her he’d lost sleep for thinking of her, he had but in a way that was probably not what Jacob had meant. Yes he had thought about her in a missing her sense but also in some very interesting and inappropriate for polite company dreams that made him wake up both satisfied and bereft that she wasn’t really there with him.

Yeah he really wasn’t ready to tell her that part yet.

The memory of one of those dreams makes his ears flush and he’s very grateful that she is not a leglimens like her sister and he had to shake his head to distract himself from those thoughts.

That isn’t what she needs right now what she needs right not is rest.

Slowly so not to startle her, as he’s learned from Theseus a startled auror means a hexed startler, he reached out to lay one of his hand on her shoulder. He can feel her warmth through her shirt and his fingers contract slightly in response, his whole hand tingling pleasantly and he forces himself to studiously ignore that his intestines are dancing the conga.

With maracas.

“Tina” He never gets tired of saying her name “You’re exhausted, you need to get some rest.” The last time she slept he’s sure was that fitful sleep she’d had when she was locked up in Kama’s lair after he’d ambushed her.

She took his hand carefully as he helped her to her feet. She’s got lovely hands he reflects as she does, strong yet slender and they mesh with his so naturally.

“You can have my room” He hears himself say gallantly “I’ll get the cot out of my case sleep down here with Jacob.”

As soon as he’s said it he has to rack his brain to try to remember is it is clean, which is it because he has been sleeping on his bed in the living room and if  he’s got anything in his room that he doesn’t want her seeing. After a moment of racking his brains he reaches the conclusion that except for the teddy bear his grandmother made for him when he was small his room is quite plain, almost sterile really of any of his belongings.

Then he’s momentarily distracted by the thought of Tina actually being in his bed, between his blankets, her head resting on his pillow. And he finds that he likes it a little too much.

Her grip suddenly strengthens forcing to him to a standstill at the bottom of the stairs.

“I can’t take your room Newt” She murmured quietly, eyes downcast and expression doubtful.

“I’m afraid I must insist Tina” He told her earnestly “You are my guest here. Please for my sake if my mother finds out I let a guest, sleep on my cot instead of somewhere more comfortable she’ll skin me alive and feed me to her hippogriffs.”

“Alright, alright” She interrupted him “If only to save your skin”

The corners of her mouth curl up into an almost smile and her eyes glint with amusement as a soft chuckle escapes them both, it’s so sudden that they both look round a little guiltily in case someone heard them for being happy in a time of a tragedy.

He loves being the one to make her laugh. Before he does anything either of them may regret he drops her hand and starts up the stairs. “It’s upstairs, second door on the right next to the bathroom, I’ll show you where and you can borrow a clean pair of my Pyjamas and we’ll wash your clothes for tomorrow so you’ll have something clean to wear.”

It’s a very… distracting thought.

On a more practically thought he’d definitely have to wash his clothes as well they carry the distinctive odour of smoke and Parisian sewer system.

About halfway up the narrow steps it a realisation hits him that Tina is not following him. Pausing with one leg raised he spun to look down at her. He watched as very slowly she sank down to curl up on the lowest step, wrapping her arms around her knees hugging herself tightly.

Concerned he hurried down the stairs and crouched down next to her unsure on what to do, she looks so lost and her cheeks are glistening with silent tears. For a moment he’s back in the MACUSA’s execution room with her sobs echoing dully in his ears. Forcing that horrible memory of how he’d almost caused her death (the first time the other times she’s nearly died he isn’t really responsibly for).

“This is my fault” She said matter of factly, resting her chin on her knees eyes downcast. “If I’d been there maybe I could have help them find another way” she shook her hair dark hair swaying and lent her forehead against her knees.

Then muffled against her knees he just caught “I knew what she was doing but I didn’t want to rock the boat until know how serious she was about their relationship until she told me she wanted to get married.” She tilted her head to look at him and her tearful dark eyes meets his and he’s held by them all over again “I thought that if I didn’t say anything against it just kept on reminding her about the law she’d see sense eventually but after she got cited it was only a matter of time before she'd be up before the committee on charges.”

She expelled a heavy frustrated sigh "I couldn't let her go to prison. Its a terrible place, barely big enough to stand up or lay down in and no privacy." Its intensely claustrophobic just thinking about it he doesn't see how anyone could cope. "And it's filled with the absolute worst of our kind Newt. The very worst the likes you put in Azkaban here. I didn't want her to hear those thoughts." 

She's been trying to protect her only sibling and it had backfired.

Helplessly she shook her head again “I promised Newt, I promised Ma and Pa I’d take care of her… and she’s with that…” Her voice trailed off helplessly.

Her anguish is palatable and he wants to find a way to ease it. How can he put it into words? That this sort of things happens as all too often between siblings, legitimate concern from one is misinterpreted as a censor to the other.

 It’s happened often enough between him and Theseus, God only know.

He’s not brave enough to pull her into an embrace and hold her to him so he does the next best thing and slowly and carefully entwined their fingers together, her grip is almost painfully tight as she struggled with her emotions. But after a long moments her other hand creeps up to their join their joined hand and he covers it with his free hand.

Eventually she shifts and rests her head on his shoulder and after a moment, hesitantly he allows himself the luxury of pressing his cheek against her hair. Its as silky and warm as he imagined it might be.

And they just sit in the darkness. And repeat softly that it wasn't her fault, wasn't anyone's fault. That the only ones at fault here are Grindelwald and his rhetoric and the unfair laws that were created in a response to fear after the Salem witch trials.

“I’m sorry” He says a while later when she’s playing gently with his fingers, her thumb stroking the tender skin between his thumb and forefinger. “That I hurt you Tina however inadvertently.”

She shrugged one shoulder “I’m sorry too, I should written to you before jumping to conclusions”

Like picking at a scab he can’t but ask “You and… and that Auror Queenie told me about are you… are you and he” He can only whisper the word serious. He can’t ask her if she loves him because if she does he doesn’t know what he’ll do.

He’s flooded with relief when she shook her head, its lighter now, almost dawn and the grey light makes her look ethereal.

“No” she looked down at their joined hands “It wasn't anything really, just a few dates here and there between assignments but he just…” she trailed off sounding uncertain.

Frantically he wants to beg her a little scared of the answer “Just what?”

“He just wasn’t you” Then she elbowed him lightly “and that’s for assuming I’d be happy with him”

A swell of almost unbearable joy wells up in his chest and he feels like he could run as far as the Zhou wu could. In fact he wants to go run out into the streets shouting “SHE LIKES ME, SHE LIKES ME” but he has a feeling his neighbours might not appreciate the news as much as he does. So he settles for chuckling darkly and she joins in.

“Let’s make a promise to each other Tina” He said seriously once their chuckles have died down “To never assume something about each other without talking to each other first, Okay?”

Her eyes are shining “Okay” she says softly, a faint flush suffusing attractively across her cheekbones and her eyes become slightly dazed as she looks up to his face. For a moment he wonders if she’s unwell maybe she’s caught one of those parasites that had affected Kama.

Their faces are very close together now, he can feel her breath on his. Slightly dizzy it occurs to him that he could lean in and just kiss her as he’s wanted to do since he left her on that dock in New York when he promised to bring back a copy of his book for her.

This scenario it should be frightening for him but he’s not, how could he be because it’s her.

The front door flies open and they both abruptly recoil, startled by the loud noise as his ever punctual assistant arrives at promptly five o’clock. Thankfully Bunty’s to busy wrestling with her umbrella to notice them spring apart.

OH COME ON!!!

“Hello Newt…” Her bright voice trails off when she sees him and Tina sitting close together on the stairs, eyes bounding between the two of them as she tries to figure out what’s going on.

“Hello Bunty” He can feel the corner of his mouth twerk upward, he is fond of his assistant no matter how terrible her timing is and that for some odd reason keeps asking him to take his shirt off. The events of the past week catching up with him he tiredly waved his hand between the two to make introductions “Tina this is my assistant Bunty, Bunty this is my friend Tina my friend Mr Kowalski, he’s a muggle, is asleep in the other room we’ve just had a rather ugh trying time in Paris, we’ve only just gotten home”

An understatement perhaps but he wasn’t doing to drag poor little Bunty into this. Anyway she’ll find out soon enough.

“I thought you were joking about Paris” She squeaked eyes bulging, she’s had to endure his frustrated rants about his international travel ban often enough to know the consequences if he did leave the country.

Like he’s been doused in ice water his thoughts turn away from the amorous and back to the practical matters of the real world, it’s probably best to update her on the situation. “Bunty” he begins “They’ll be staying with us for a while, while they have business with the Ministry and try to find some people they’ve lost”

Unwilling to elaborate any further he changed the subject “How were things here?”

Bunty is openly staring at Tina, who’s eying her back warily. “They’re… everyone is fine. Elsie’s dropping are normal now and Pinky’s nose is looking a lot cleaner.”

Unable to stand all the staring he butted in “In my case we have several new guests, a maladictuous and a Zhou wu but I don’t want you going down there unless I’m there” while Tina has gently coaxed Nagini into getting some sleep the poor girl tearfully made them promise not to come down when she’s in her snake form.

And he doesn’t want Bunty getting bitten in half by the untrusting Zhou wu which while it has bonded with himself and Tina it isn’t ready to be around to many people yet. 

“Please could you wake me around lunch time, I need to go and to check on my brother

As his red headed assistant hesitantly turned away and padded softly across the room to avoid waking Jacob he called after her “And leave the Kelpie to me Bunty I mean it this time!”

He just caught her confused mutter of “how did you find a Zhou wu in Paris?” before her footsteps faded down the stairs to the basement. She right Paris is far outside the Zhou wu’s natural habitat so the chances of running into a wild one there was extremely unlikely. No wonder she was confused, poor girl.

Amused he glanced at Tina who was worrying at her lower lip. Worried she was on the verge of tears again he reached out to hold her hand again. She regarded him with amusement and part of him relaxed slightly while another part is wondering what she finds so funny.

But the light is back dancing in her eyes again and his heart does a little hiccup. They’re just beautiful, entrancing. He's staring at her, probably like a lovestruck idiot, but he can't bring to care.

“What?” Is about all he can ask her in his confusion.

“Nothing” She leans in and presses her lips to his cheek.

 In the grand scheme of kisses it’s quite a light and soft kiss, just a brush really but she lingers for a moment, scent wafting over him. His whole body suffused with pleasure like stepping into a beam of sunlight after the darkness of the forest, his skin too tight and buzzing like he’s been filled with bees and the weight of the side he’s decided to take on is abruptly easier to put up with.

“Goodnight Newt” Head still spinning slightly he barely notices her ascend the stairs and the soft click of his bedroom door shutting. He touches the warm spot where she kissed him and it tingles, mind playing her simple gesture of affection over and over again.

The Niffler pokes its black fluffy head out of his coat and chirrups at him questioningly. Hazily he grinned at it, the warm weight of it a furry hot water bottle in the chilly morning air.

They can face what’s coming, he’s sure about it as long as they stay together they can.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was really hard to write. So much emotion. I hop you enjoyed it. 
> 
> I saw the film and I loved it. Does it have its problems? Yes. But no film is perfect.
> 
> Jacob's a war vetran and the first world war is sometimes refered to as the War to end all Wars. With the horrible things he saw in the first world war no wonder he's struggling at the idea of another war.
> 
> Aw Newt you have no idea Bunty's got a crush on you. And Yes I am mean Newt cannot catch a break. 
> 
> Your Comments and Kudo's are as always deeply appriciated.
> 
> Right I'm off to write something fluffy.


End file.
